Above the clouds
by grilledjellyfish
Summary: Luffy and his crew walk...uhm, stumble into a new adventure... Maya is officially a new strawhate pirate and has to prove herself!
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes:  
  
Aaaaalright!  
First of all: I'm German, so English isn't my mother tongue! Havn't found somebody to beta   
my OP-fics, yet, 'cause most of my friends aren't Anime/Manga freaks... so all the mistakes   
are mine! I'm not proud of 'em, but whatever!!  
This is my first attempt on One Piece and its characters! I'm normally writing   
Stargate fics, but I hope that I made an acceptable job here. I have read up to the fight   
between Luffy and Enel, so in Germany they're still stuck on Skypia! This story takes place   
somewhere before these events!  
In my country, the characters have other names and I hope I gave 'em the more commen ones.  
This story shouldn't end here, so if you want to read the next part(s), feel free to drop   
a line in the reviews!! ;P Would love to read you critizism.  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"But..."  
"No buts! We have to get the hell outta here!"  
  
Looking back over her shoulder, Nami watched the marine soldiers round the corner, their swords risen high above their heads... she really wondered whether it was easier for them to run like this.  
  
"But Nami! I want meeeat!" Luffy told his crew, his lip already quivering pathetically."Can't we   
just fight and get it over with?"  
  
Eyes glinting dangerously, she hit the back of his head, while she was running through the   
streets of some damn small town.  
"Ouch!!"  
  
"You stupid idiot! Stop whining and keep running!"  
Zorro ran past him, Chopper sitting on his back and holding onto his friend's shirt for dear   
life. The little elk had his eyes closed and was therefore not prepared for the sudden change   
of direction and nearly fell off his friend's back in the process.  
  
Neither was Luffy, who just sprinted past the little side-street his comrades had just entered.  
"Hey! Where are y-urgh!"  
  
Female hands grabbed him around his throat and limbs, lifting him up into the air and   
transporting the rubber-boy towards the roof. There he straightened himself, looked over the rim  
of the rooftop and pulled faces at the growling mass of soldiers standing in the street below.  
  
"Hahaha!! Thanx Robin!... Uhm, Robin? Zorro? Chopper? Where the hell are you all?!"  
  
Bonk  
  
"Ouch! What was that for, Nami?" Rubbing his head vigorously, Luffy turned towards his navigator.  
"'Cause you deserved it!"  
"Don't you dare and make my Nami angry again!"   
"Hihi... alright, alright. What now?"  
  
Six pairs of eyes stared at him, but Luffy merely stared back.  
"You 'do' realize that you're the captain, right?"  
  
Chuckling, he crossed his arms and nodded. "'Course I know that! Hmm, maybe we should find a butcher... we still need steaks and those lil sausages, Sanji made for dinner..."  
  
Bonk  
  
"Oh boy..." Nami sighed and swept a calming palm across her features. This day was getting   
harder than she had hoped it would in the first place. After all, this had been supposed to be   
a simple get-something-to-eat-and-then-back-on-sea-trip, though she had learned to use the   
word 'simple' more wisely around Luffy...  
  
"We gotta find shelter until the marine stops searching for us and then we get our asses off this   
damn island! Usopp is still on the Going Merry... hopefully they don't find our ship between all   
those cliffs..."  
"You are so great Miss Nami!!" Sanji declared, his heart bumping hard against his chest.  
  
"Hey guys! There's a backyard. Nobody's gonna find us there if we keep quiet..." Again six pair   
of eyes stared at Luffy.  
  
"What?" He asked innocently.  
  
/()/()/()/  
  
"Booooring!"  
"Either you shut up or we gag ya!" Zorro told his captain with gritted teeth.  
  
The friends had been sitting in this hellhole of a boring backyard for the last one and half   
hour, but still, they occasionally heard their pursuer running past the houses, yelling for them   
to give up... which meant, that Luffy had been getting on everybody's nerves for one hour and   
twenty-nine minutes... and some seconds.  
  
Pouting, Luffy sat back against a wall and pulled his strawhat further over his face. He really   
wanted to get going and especially get something to eat!  
  
Chopper watched the scene with a smile. He loved being a part of this crew and always wondered what could probably happen next, considering with whom he was travelling!  
  
Suddenly an unknown scent caught his attention.  
Wiggling his nose, he tried to identify it... smelled familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on   
it... Well, whatever! The whole town smelled strange and rounding a corner meant running into a  
wall of stinking smells for the Doc! The wind had probably caught air from the poultry market,   
or something... Deciding to let it drop, he stared up into the blue sky.  
  
"Somebody's watching us..." Zorro mumbled under his breath, bringing everybody out of their   
reveries. His hands had already taken hold of his swords.  
  
To his right, Sanji took position in front of Nami, cigarette hanging loosely in the corner of   
his mouth. His eyes roamed over the houses surrounding them, searching fo any signs of their   
new intruder.  
  
Again, Chopper's blue nose caught the strange scent, but before he had time to think about its   
origin, a shadow flew across the backyard. The form was so huge, that half of the yard got   
swallowed in darkness, allowing only little light to illuminate the friend's surroundings.  
  
"Hey!" Luffy's voice echoed through the silence. "Who's there?!"  
He didn't get an answer.  
  
Instead, a human figure jumped down one of the roofs, landing gracefully on its feet right in   
front of Nico Robin. To say that the woman was shocked was probably the understatement of the day!  
  
"Finally, we meet again, Miss Bloody Sunday!"  
  
/()/()/()/  
  
"Who are you?" Robin asked her opponent calmly, arms crossed protectively across her chest.  
"Your executioner." Came the blunt reply.  
  
Eyes wide in shock, the seven pirates watched the figure draw back the hood of the cape it was   
wearing, revealing a young woman, not older than Nami. Her hair was dark, blackish brown and  
quite short, spiky ends sticking out in all directions. A long strand of hair covered partly her   
right eye and cheek.  
  
Robin tried to supress the shiver that threatened to run down her spine, as she stared into the   
nearly black orbs of the girl's eyes. They were so cold and hard... as if they had seen too much   
sorrow and destruction to hide it anymore.  
  
With one hand, the girl opened a button on the cape, which was no longer held in place and fell   
onto the ground.  
  
Giving her a once-over, Sanji's brain would have probably gone all mushy, if his eye wouldn't   
have caught sight of the two swords resting beside her hip. They hung seemingly loosely in the   
black belt that held the baggy pants in place.  
  
"And why would you want to execute me?" Robin asked.  
"You're guilty of mass murder."  
  
Without further warning, the girl drew her swords and attacked the woman in front of her.   
Not really impressed, Nico Robin crossed her arms and concentrated on her opponent's shoulders, waiting for two hands to grow out of the girl's body.   
  
But not only to her surprise did nothing happen.  
No hands took hold of the girl's swords, stopping them from crushing down onto Nico's   
unprotected form in high speed.  
  
Tshink  
  
Blinking once, the young woman looked into the mischievously glinting eyes of Roronoa Zorro. With two of his swords he had prevented hers to slice through Nico Robin's throat, who was by now on the other side of the backyard. Luffy had expanded his arms and had brought his comrade out of the danger zone.  
  
"This is none of your business, so get the hell outta my sight or you'll be sorry."  
One corner of Zorro's mouth twitched into a lopsided grin. "Now it is..."  
  
Straining the muscles in his body, Zorro slowly pushed the girl's swords back towards her. She   
didn't seem to mind a bit and merely stepped back, not intending to lose her footing and fall   
backwards. It didn't take too long until the two fighter stood in the middle of the backyard,  
their swords still crossed.  
  
They hadn't lost eye contact once and so Zorro didn't expect her to suddenly step aside and jump over his perplexed form. She didn't waste a second and attacked him as soon as her boots touched the ground. But again Zorro was faster, blocking her weapons with one of his own, while trying to knock her swords out of her hands with his second one.  
  
It didn't work and soon the two were engaged in a fight.  
But no matter how often the unknown girl attacked him, Zorro never believed that she was   
battling with all her strength or soul for that matter. She seemed to hold back... as if she   
didn't attempt to actually hurt him.  
  
She was keeping him in check!  
"Why aren't you fighting!"  
  
For a moment, he thought she was going to answer him, her mouth opening slightly, but then the   
huge shadow flew across the backyard and the girl froze into place, eyes staring into   
nothingness. Not knowing what to do, the green-haired swords fighter stepped back and let his   
arms hang loosely by his sides.  
  
Suddenly a shrill noise echoed through the small yard, hurting in everybody's ears.  
The young woman cursed soundly under her breath and put her weapons back into their scabbards.  
  
Takingone calming breath, she turned towards Robing and Luffy, raising er hand and pointing a   
warning finger at the other woman. Her cold icy eyes seemingly pierced through Robin's skull.  
  
"I'm not finished here, Miss Bloody Sunday."  
  
She looked up and the six pirates, standing around her, did the same.  
"Wooow!!" Luffy exclaimed as he watched the huge shadow materialize into a giant eagle, which  
landed with some difficulty in the backyard just beside the unknown girl. Its large wings nearly   
grazed the walls and therfore Nami, but Sanji practically jumped into them, blocking them   
effectively from touching his precious love.  
  
"Two dozen marines are on their way to your hiding place... A captain Spear is their leader and   
he's got Davil Powers. I recommend you get going."

Mouths agape, they watched her climb onto the back of the giant eagle, which immediately jumped off the ground and lifted its body into the air and soon enough it disappeared behind the roofs.  
  
"What was this all about?" Chopper asked, his body partially hidden in his own queer way behind Luffy's legs.  
"Who was this gorgeous girl and what did she want from you, Nico Robin?" Sanji asked bewildered.  
"I want this parrot!" Luffy chirped in happily.  
  
Sweatdropping, Nami walked towards the only exit of the backyard. Opening the wooden door, she was not happy to find the soldiers already running through the small corridor towards her. Not thinking, Nami pushed the door shut.  
  
"What's up Miss navigator?" Robin asked  
"She didn't lie about the marine... but maybe she understated the number slightly!"  
  
"Well, then we better get out of this yard-thingy!"  
With that, Luffy extended his arms towards the next best roof, Chopper and Nami already holding onto his back.  
  
Robin, too, was on her way upwards, her dublicated arms transporting her to where Luffy was   
standing, laughing about something he had seen on the streets below.  
  
Sanji and Zorro waited until the others were out of danger before they started climbing up the   
house wall. They had barely reached the rim of the roof, before the door blew open and a large   
man stepped into the dim light of the backyard.  
  
He had apparently heard something from above his head, so he looked up, catching a glimpse of  
Luffy's tongue before somebody pulled him away from the edge.  
  
"I gonna get ya..."  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!  
  
Wow, the first part is done! But who is this mysterious girl and what does she want? Who is this   
mysterious captain Spear? And what are these mysterious lil sausages Luffy mentioned?You wanne know more?? Just tell me!! :) 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes:  
This chapter would have probably never ended, if my sis hadn't thrown me some death glares...   
I hope now, I got all names right! =D   
Loads of fun and now read on!!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"STOP!!"  
  
'Why in God's name would I want to stop and wait for them to get me?' Nami thought as she listened to the newest outburts of their pursuer.  
  
"Hey Nami! Why can't I see the Going Merry?"  
"Because, Luffy..." breathe "... we're still in the middle of that damn town!"  
"Oh... and when will we see it?"  
  
She really had the need to hurt him... badly.  
"Never, if you keep on getting on my nerves!"  
  
Nami couldn't believe that they were still in this mess.  
After the six pirates had been able to escape out of the backyard over the roofs, they had decided to move their little flight down onto the streets. But to everybody's dismay (well, maybe not to Luffy's) didn't the marine soldiers lose their track and kept on hunting them down.  
  
She realized that they couldn't run around here forever and needed to find a safe way back to their ship as soon as possible!  
  
"We should divide up!" Robin told her crew mates, while they rounded another corner. "That way, we won't draw that much attention and stand a better chance of escaping unseen."  
"Yeah, but what about that strange girl?"  
  
"She's after me! She won't try and kill anybody of you."  
Nami thought about it for a moment and considered it to be worth a try, which meant...  
"Chopper, Sanji and I go right! Luffy and Zorro, you two protect Robin from that maniac and stay on this street!"  
  
"Yes, Miss Nami!! My heart will follow you everywhere!!"  
"See ya later, guys!"  
  
Increasing her pace, Nami took the next turn and sped down the small street, Sanji and Chopper on her heels.   
  
But logically, the marine had done the same and by now, about a dozen soldiers were after the three friends, trying in vain to catch up with them.  
Looking back, Nami could see the soldiers following them, again swords drawn and anger  
clearly visible on their faces.  
  
Right behind her, Sanji covered their sixes... or better hers, seeing how he stared at her back...  
  
"Ahhhh!!"  
Alarmed by Choppers scream, Nami turned back and had barely time to duck as a long spear-like object pierced the house wall to her right and slammed into the opposite wall with such force, that stones flew through the air, missing Sanji's head merely by inches.  
  
For a second, nothing happened and even the marines stopped their pursuit.  
Suddenly, the wall, out of which the spear had come, exploded. Dust surrounded   
the three pirates and Sanji tried to cover Nami and Chopper, hoping to prevent most of the debris from injuring them.  
  
After some moments, the dust settled down and a low, malicious chuckle could be heard.  
"You are the famous strawhat pirates? Two girls and a hamster?"  
  
Getting up, Sanji dusted off most of the dirt on his black suit and lighted a new cigarette. Putting   
his tie back in place, he glared at the bulky man standing in front of him.  
"Don't you ever dare and call my Nami a girl again! She's a Goddess among women!!"  
Chopper noted that Sanji's eyes were those of a man with a mission.   
  
/()/()/()/  
  
"What are we doing here?" Luffy asked, eyes roaming over the large street that obviously lead straight towards the market place of the town.   
Zorro gritted his teeth. "Still trying to find a way back to the ship!"  
  
"Oh... And? Have we found it, yet?"  
"I swear, if ya ever..."  
A hand, having magically grown out of his shoulder, covered his mouth, silencing him effectively.   
Angry, he turned towards Robin, who merely put an index finger in front of her lips, asking the two men to keep quiet.   
  
Decreasing their pace, they gradually came to an halt.  
They were alone. Their latest attempt to shake the marine off had apparently worked, leaving the three friends standing pursuer-free in the middle of a street.  
  
Robin knew that somebody was watching her from a side street, but couldn't see anybody standing there. Otherwise she would have already tackled the person down with some well grown hands.  
  
"Doesn't work, huh?" A female voice echoed out of one of the many lanes leading to the main street the pirates where currently standing in.  
  
"No, unfortunately I can't use my Devil Powers to get hold of you... " Robin was more than unpleased about the way this whole situation developed to her disadvantage. She'd rather be in control...  
  
Hearing steps coming from his right, Zorro saw a figure walking out of the semi-darkness and intothe light. It was the young woman from earlier and her dark eyes told Robin that she hadn't changed her mind about killing her in the meantime.  
  
"Hey! Why are you following us?!" Luffy was so not in the mood to fight with that girl. He was already pissed off and didn't need any more stress with a pugnacious brat!  
  
"I'm not following ya, lil boy, and if I remember correctly, I already told you why I was after that  
woman. Now you have two possibilities: Either you leave the two of us alone and go and rescue your friends, or you stay and try to help 'her'... but this time I won't hold back."  
  
Bemused, the girl watched Zorro put on his black bandana and draw his three swords. A lopsided grin appeared on his lips as he stepped in front of Nico Robin, eyes gleaming contently... finally he was getting his fight! Unfortunately he hadn't counted on his captain, who had taken up position beside him, hands clenched into fists.  
  
"Good, 'cause we won't either."  
The words had merely left his mouth when the girl drew her swords and sped forward. Her face showed no emotions, but her eyes were clear and alert, catching every movement of her opponents.  
  
And again Zorro blocked her attack with his swords.  
But this time he struck back, trying to get her with the sword between his teeth and missing her barely as she warded him off with the back of one of her swords. At the same time, she jumped and used her right shin to hit Zorro's side squarely.  
  
The blow sent him flying threw the street, the air leaving his lungs at once.  
Grumpling he got up and was just about to attack as Luffy took in his former postion. His arm was already extended, getting ready to deliver some hard punches.  
  
"Gum-Gum..."  
His fist flew towards the girl, who was standing some meter away from Luffy. But just as his hand was about to hit her, she stepped aside, dodging his attack. She then grabbed his arm and squeezed.  
  
Perplexed, the three friends watched her for a moment, but suddenly Luffy felt the energy leave his arm. The feeling spread throughout his entire body and black and white dots started to play in front of his vision. He didn't even feel the girl's grip loose on his lower arm as his lids threatened to close.  
  
Baffled, Zorro and Robin watched Luffy get down onto his knees, both arms hanging weakly to either side of his hip.  
  
"W-what did you do... with my arm?"  
"If you don't use your powers wisely, they have no effects on me... by the way, your arm is alright. It's just that you won't be able to use your Devil Powers for the next few minutes."  
  
Robin's eyes went wide.  
"That's why I couldn't get hold of you when we first met in the backyard. You have Devil Powers, too. You are able to neutralize the powers of others, right?"  
  
The girl smiled slightly.  
  
Zorro's eyes fell on Luffy's unmoving body. He didn't appear to be hurt, only tired... which was under normal circumstances not a word, he would describe Luffy with!  
  
But it seemed the girl could use her ability only on people with Devil Powers, so he was in no danger of losing his strength to an energy-sucker!  
  
"Then it's just the two of us... "  
"No, dammit! Why don't you understand? I'm not here to fight with you! I've to kill Nico Robin,   
  
Miss All Sunday and not the pirates she has decided to use for her aims this time!"  
It was then, that Luffy moved again. Slowly he got up from his kneeling position, legs still wobbly  
and vision blurred.   
  
"That's why you havn't killed me, when you had the chance to, right?... But unfortunately, we can't just let you kill her. She's no longer Miss All Sunday, a member of Crocodile's mafia. She's Nico Robin, a strawhat pirate!"  
  
Robin watched the young woman's hands clench together to fists, knuckles turning white. She had averted her eyes from the three friends and stared at the ground, chest rising rapidly as her breathing quickened.  
  
"She may no longer be an agent, but a murderer is still a murderer even if he sells flowers!!" The girl's voice wavered dangerously, tears imminent as she tried to swallow the lump that formed in her dry throat. Why wouldn't they understand, that she had to do this! There was no other possibility, but to get rid of the last person responsible for her sorrow in order to finally find some piece!  
  
She wanted to scream! She wanted to tell them what their great Robin had done!  
But before she had a chance to do so, the giant eagle appeared above them, turning once before  
flying threw the row of houses lining the street and landing without a noise beside the girl.  
  
Excitedly, it rubbed its large head against her side, its wings moving up and down as if it wanted to fly away any second.  
  
Concentrating fully on the bird that demanded her attention, she petted its bill lovingly.  
"What's the matter, Kyra?"  
  
Luffy's eyes opened wide. He so hoped the bird would answer her...  
No such luck, it merely nodded towards the three friends and looked then up into the sky.  
  
"Dammit... I didn't want that to happen."  
"What's up? What did the bird tell ya?" Zorro hoped that the bad feeling in the pit of his stomache wouldn't turn out to be right.  
  
"The marine has your friends... " He had just known it. "I'm gonna rescue them, 'cause this mess is partly my fault. Kyra will bring you back to your ship and will return with your friends. Then I'll give ya twenty minutes to get away from here or I'll fulfill my mission this time."  
  
With that the girl turned and was just about to run away, when Luffy raised his voice.  
"Hey! Do you really think that we're gonna let you rescue our friends on your own, huh?"  
  
She had hoped they would accept the easy way out of this...  
  
/()/()/()/  
  
"Sanji!!"  
  
Running to the wall where her friend had landed ungracefully and surely not without getting injured, Nami hoped he was still conscious.  
  
After some seconds, she finally reached his unmoving body, fingers immediately searching for a pulse. To her relief, his eyes opened in an instant as soon as her fingers touched his sweaty skin.  
  
"Don't worry, my dear Nami... "cough "... as long as I can move a toe I will protect you from   
that moron."  
  
Blood was dripping out of his mouth and his arm was twisted at a strange angle. Nami cringed inwardly when he started coughing violently.  
  
"You better stay where you are, Sanji... Chopper and I are gonna finish this."  
"No, no, Nami... just a few scratches... you two better get out of this town."  
  
In this moment, a large, bulky man stepped into the light, his body casting a huge shadow across   
Nami and Sanji. His uniform was that of a marine captain and his name read Spear... fitting, considering his ability to grow stones in all kind of shapes out of his body.  
  
"Yeah, little lady! Let two men have their fight... but don't hope to be able to escape me. Hahaha!"  
She decided to dislike his malicious laughter.  
"Oh, please! Do you really think that you're gonna defeat him?! Never!" Nami told him confidently, arms slung protectively around Sanji's bloody neck. The marine officer smirked and stepped into their direction, a stone spear already growing out of his arm to finish this once and for all...  
  
"She's right. Not gonna happen, Spear."  
Surprised, the captain turned towards the owner of the voice and was even more baffled to find a young woman standing right in front of him, hands resting on her hips. He noted with interest   
that that sassy brat had two swords and seemed to risk a fight with him, consciously!  
  
"Are you ill, girl? You wanne die? You're still a kid, so go and play with your dolls, this is a battlefield and not some kindergarten."  
  
Not really impressed, the young woman drew her swords and slowly made her way towards the captain.  
He merely raised his eyesbrows. He was anxious to see what the girl had in store.  
  
"Before you have time to defeat him, I'm going to kill ya!"  
Within a fraction of a second, the girl was in front of him, swords banging against two large stone spears that had grown out of the captain's hands. With one motion of his hand, he pushed her back, making her nearly lose hold of her weapons.  
  
"You really mean it, kid, huh?!"  
"You always that slow?"  
  
Eye twitching angrily, he ran towards her, spears pointing at her chest. She had barely time to block his attack with her two swords, before they had a chance to graze her skin. Unfortunately, now she had nothing left to protect her and therefore couldn't prevent another stone spear that had grown out of his side to pierce her right shoulder.  
  
She tried hard to stifle the scream of pain and anger that burned in her throat as he pulled the   
spear out of her body and stepped back. He watched her for a moment, obviously waiting for her to break down.  
  
"Kyra!!"  
Frowning, the captain didn't know how to react to the sudden exclamation.  
"What, now... calling for your mommy, or what?!"  
"Kyra, bring the pirates to their ship... this won't take much longer."  
  
With this she sped forward, sword cutting easily through the stone spears. The shock of her sudden success was clearly written all over Spear's face and he barely dodged one of her swords that was aimed for his head. This fight turned out to be not as easy as he had thought...  
  
In the corner of her eyes, the girl saw Nami and Chopper line up in front of Sanji, who was by now unconscious, in order to protect him from the huge eagle standing in front of them. They didn't realize that the bird was there to rescue them...  
  
"Get onto her back... she'll bring you to your ship and the rest of your crew!" She yelled over the noise of the fight.  
  
It was then that Kyra sat down and spread her wings, practically inviting the three suspicious friends to get onto her back. For some moments, Nami's eyes roamed over the large body, but then she noted that there was no other way of escaping than this!  
  
Relieved, the other woman watched them climb onto her eagle's back. The eagle immediately jumped into the air, wings moving rapidly in order to gain height. And after mere seconds, it was out of sight, having disappeared behind some roof tops.  
  
Straightening, she inhaled deeply, ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder and the drumming in her ears.  
  
"Last chance to leave, Spear... next time my friend returns you're dead."  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!!  
  
So we still don't know that girl's name... hmmm, maybe next chapter knows it?? Wanne read more, tell me!!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes:  
So here's the third part! Sorry it took so long, but had some other fics to get finished.  
Hope you'll like it and consider it worth some reviews!!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"Briiing us baaack!!!" Luffy screamed, his feet kicking into thin air. "Let go of me, you damn parrot!!"  
  
"If the bird lets go of you, you'll fall into the sea and drown."  
Pursing his lips and throwing some death glares at the eagle's belly, Luffy fell silent. Unfortunately  
for him, Robin was right.  
  
Right now, the eagle's two large talons were holding him tightly by his shoulders. His arms were  
tied around him like a rope, a knot preventing him from getting his limbs free and, to top it all,  
his rubber-legs dangled currently 400 meters above the sea...  
  
If Zorro didn't wake up any time soon or Robin got her powers back, he saw no way out of this  
situation.  
  
"Hey, Robin! Zorro awake?" Luffy yelled, hoping the woman would hear him where she was sitting on the eagle's back, holding tightly onto an unconscious swords-fighter.  
  
"No, he's still not awake... but the girl said, he should be able to move within the next ten/fifteen   
minutes... and I still can't use my Devil Powers. She seems to have neutralized them for much longer than yours..."  
  
Suddenly, without further warnings, the eagle pressed its large wings against its body and started  
to drop down towards the sea. Robin had a hard time keeping Zorro from falling off the bird's back, while Luffy appeared to have the fun of his life!  
  
"Woohoohoooooo!!!" He was screaming out his lungs, eyes shining bright with excitement.  
But just as suddenly as it had started, the manoeuvre stopped, extended wings catching air and breaking the fall within a fraction of a second.   
  
"Hahaha!! A roller-coaster-parrot!!"  
"There's the Going Merry, captain..."  
  
But Luffy didn't hear Robin anymore. He had already fallen onto the ship's deck, head banging with a loud thud against the mast.  
  
"Ahhhhh..."  
  
The eagle had dropped him unceremoniously onto the ship, having cleared its talons for a smooth landing.  
  
"ARGH!!!!! A monster!!!"  
Blinking a few times to get the chirping birds out of his line of view, Luffy had just time to watch   
Usopp collapse, foam forming around his mouth.  
  
The pirate just wanted to start laughing when a gust told him, that the eagle had left them alone   
on their ship, probably flying back in order to get the rest of the crew... which brought him back to the topic!  
  
"Robin!! Untie me!!!"  
Visibly tired, the woman dragged her body over to Luffy, who was by now rolling around on the deck, screaming and yelling as if he was burning alive.  
  
With all the strength she could muster, she let two arms grow out of the deck in order to hold him tight. She then loosened the knot in the rubber-arms and watched as they snapped back into their original length.  
  
"Alright! Now I get back and kick some asses... you coming with me?"  
Inhaling deeply, Robin shook her head no. She had to rest for a moment... afterwards she could still follow him and drag him out of danger.  
  
"Ohh boy... my head..."  
"Zorro!! You're awake!!"  
  
Bewildered, the green haired man's forehead ceased into a deep frown.  
His head hurt as if somebody had dumped a house onto him... but he was quite sure no such thing had happened... well, at least not within the last few days! And then there was this unnerving tingling in his body!   
  
"What the heck... Hey Luffy, how did we get here?"  
"Oh, the parrot brought us here... you ready to get back and rescue the others?!"  
  
"LUFFY!! ZORRO!! ROBIN!! Where have you been? Where are the others?? And what did that monster bird want??"  
Usopp, having made sure said monster bird was gone and that every part of his body was in one piece, dared to stand up and run over to where Nico Robin was leaning heavily against the side of the ship.  
  
She still felt as if she'd been running a marathon for days.  
"We wanted to get new supplies in town when the marine found us... on our way back to you, we met this girl who was intending to kill me..."   
  
"I'm gonna get her and then she'll be sorry for this mess!!" Luffy interrupted Robin mid-sentence. His hands were clenched into tight fists, anger rising within the captain... he really wanted to get going!  
  
"We tried to escape but Sanji, Nami and Chopper got caught by the marine and the girl wanted to rescue them on her own and told us to get back to the ship. Luffy and Zorro wanted to follow her, but she disabled Luffy and me by neutralizing our powers and after a short fight with Zorro, he suddenly broke down, unmoving... apparently she had done something to his neural system by using some old fighting technique."  
  
"Right... I remember. That brat pressed some spot on my neck and suddenly I couldn't move... I'm going to kill her!!" Zorro hissed through gritted teeth, still not entirely able to move every part of his body. Especially his fingers tingled as if they had been lying in ice water for hours.  
  
"I don't understand a word, but if that girl is really that dangerous, we should probably forget the  
others and leave this island right now! If Sanji hasn't been able to fight off the marine, then they're probably already dead by now... so why stay here and wait for our safe deaths?!"  
  
Luffy turned towards Usopp, regarding him with one hard, determined look.  
"Ohh dammit... alright, lets get 'em..."  
  
"Guys!!!"  
Frowning, the four friends turned into the direction where the voice had come from and were surprised to find the huge eagle heading straight for the ship, barely a hundred meter away with Nami and Chopper sitting upright on its back.  
  
Luffy ran up to the bow of their ship, starting to wave his arms wildly and grinning brightly up at them as the bird got ready to land gracefully on the deck of the Going Merry.  
  
It sat down as carefully as possible, obviously minding Nami's and Chopper's attempts to carry down an unmoving Sanji. His suit was partly ripped open and the white shirt underneath was stained crimson.  
  
"I need my emergency stuff!! NOW!!" Chopper yelled over to Usopp, who immediately sprinted inside the ship to get Chopper's medical instruments.  
  
"Luffy... "  
The rubber-boy turned towards Nami, who was still holding onto Sanji's neck for dear life.  
"On our way to the ship, we saw the marine soldiers running to the cliffs!! We gotta get the heck  
away from this island!!"  
  
Glaring into the general direction where he supposed the town to be, Luffy's eyes then roamed over his friends sitting around on deck. They were all in no condition to fight off the marine troops. And he wasn't going to risk the lives of his friends just to get back to that girl.  
  
"Weigh the anchor!! We're outta here!!" He yelled, making his way over to the bow of the ship,  
where he immediately sat down on his favourite place.  
  
Zorro, Nami, Usopp and Robin started immediately to get the ship ready. Chopper was still attending to Sanji's wounds and could only listen to the sails catching the wind and to the sea sloshing around the bow. In the corner of his eyes he saw the last smaller rocks rising out of the sea, before everything around the ship turned into the bright blue ocean.  
  
Deciding that Sanji was stabile enough to get moved around, he ordered Zorro to help him carry the still unconscious chef inside, where he could finish the compresses and dressings that would   
hopefully stop the bleedings and cool some haematomas.  
  
After some minutes, Luffy turned around on the wooden head of the lamb.  
"Hey, Nami! Did you see what happened to the girl?"  
  
Averting her eyes from the lockport around her wrist, Nami turned towards the captain.  
"All I remember, is that that captain Spear got her once with his strange weapon, but then she ordered the bird to fly us to the ship and I couldn't see what happaned afterwards... why? And why did she help us anyway?"  
  
"I dunno... "  
Turning back to the wide peaceful sea, Luffy laid back and looked up into the blue sky.  
It was dotted with little white clouds and some seagulls accompanied the ship on their way across the ocen of the Grand Line.  
  
They had been sailing for about twenty minutes, nobody having said much in that time, when Nami heard something in the distant... she had heard that noise before... a shrill noise...  
  
"Hey guys!! There's that eagle again!!" Usopp yelled down from the crow's nest, where he was keeping watch. "It's coming straight for us!!"  
  
Within seconds, the huge eagle had reached the Going Merry and landed in the middle of the   
deck. It sat down and carefully dropped the person lying on its back onto the wooden planks.  
Around it, the strawhat pirates minus Sanji and Usopp (who preferred to keep some healthy   
distance) had taken position. They were more than surprised to find the girl from earlier lying   
motionless beside the eagle.  
  
Though the fact that she was bleeding severely out of three wounds worried them most.  
Chopper immediately sprinted over to the girl, Nami and Zorro already on his heels to offer their  
help if needed.  
  
But as soon as the little raindeer touched the first deep wound on the young woman's shoulder, her eyes snapped open and she tried to get into an upright position, her shaking arms giving her only enough support to allow her to lean heavily against the eagle behind her.  
  
"W-why am... I here?" Her breathing was ragged and uneven and blood was dripping out of the   
corner of her mouth. She had lost already a lot of blood and could barely hold her eyelids open.  
  
"Your bird brought you here."  
  
Coughing, she wiped away some of the blood with her arm and glared at the eagle.  
"Kyra, get me... off this sh-ship..."  
  
"No."  
  
Bewildered, she turned towards Luffy. He was standing in front of the sun and the girl could barely see him with the bright light surrounding him.  
  
"W-what?"  
"No... You're injured badly... Chopper will attend to your injuries. Until then you stay here... Oh and I still have some bones to pick with ya."  
  
"Whatever."  
Turning onto her side, she pushed the eagle away from her. She gripped the mast beside her, nails digging into the wood to get a better hold of the material. Inch by inch she dragged her body upwards until she was standing more or less upright. With her legs shaking violently and blood oozing out of the wounds on her shoulder, belly and leg, she had a hard time keeping her footing. Black and white dots danced in front of her vision and the pirates were not more than   
indistinct shadows.  
  
"Kyra... last time... get me off this ship." She mumbled.  
But the eagle didn't react. Its head lowered and sad eyes stared at the deck as she appeared to   
whimper.  
  
"She says, that she can't bring you away from here. You're wounds are too severe and she fears   
you will die." Chopper translated the bird's lamenting.  
  
"Kyra... please." The eyes of the girl filled with tears, making her vision even more blurred.  
She had to get off this ship! She'd rather die alone on the sea, than stay here with 'that' woman,   
the murderer of her family and friends.  
  
It almost seemed, the eagle had understood its friend's plea and started to advance towards her,   
where she was still leaning against the mast. But before it had reached her, Luffy suddenly stepped into its way.  
  
"I said 'NO'! You can leave this ship if you get past me, but only then..."  
"If that's all." She hissed and pushed her body away from the mast.  
  
At first it seemed, as if she'd fall over, but after a moment, she took the first insecure step forward.  
  
Luffy was standing merely two meter away from her, arms folded across his chest. He watched her more than poor attempts to get to the eagle behind him without any emotions displayed on his face.  
  
And that she had a hard time breathing was apparent to everyone on board and Nami asked herself when the girl would finally succumb to the exhaustion and collapse.  
  
But she didn't.  
  
No, she had already reached Luffy's side, eyes hard, when the rubber-boy suddenly lifted his arm and touched her shoulder with his hand.  
  
Shocked, Robin stepped forward, intending to pull his hand away from the girl. After all, she could still put him out of action with her powers. But before the archaeologist had reached him, he winked her off.  
  
The girl had already taken hold of his shirt, but appeared not to be intending to use her powers... maybe she was already too tired.  
  
"I won't stay here."  
"Then I have to make you stay..."  
  
With that Luffy lifted his other hand, clenched to a tight fist, and hit her square across her face.   
As a result she fell to the side, pulling Luffy with her in the process.  
  
Mouths agape, the other strawhat pirates watched in disbelief as Luffy hit her again. This time, she let go of his shirt, hand falling limply onto the deck. Her eyes were closed and everybody could tell, that she was unconscious.  
  
"LUFFY!!" Chopper was more than unpleased how the captain had treated his new patient! As if the deer hadn't already enough work with the injured smutje!  
  
"Well, now she stays, right?"  
He was grinning widely, eyes following Zorro and Chopper who were carrying the girl inside the ship.  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!  
Noooo!! Hopefully, Chopper gets Sanji back to his healthy self!!! And what about the still nameless girl?? Friend or foe? Find out and read the next part!! Reviews desired... ;-D 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes:  
Took some time... but I deleted the first design I would never call a story... after having finished it!!  
So I sat back down and started from the beginning and this time I liked it!  
Hope you like it too and give me a review!!!  
Thanx go to my sis, you really helped me pull some teeth... uhm, I mean write this story!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"Hey!! Stay!!!"  
"Please! Come on bird!!"  
  
Extending his arms, Luffy tried to get hold of the eagle's wings. The poor bird had been trying   
to escape three very mad pirates, namely Chopper, Usopp and especially Luffy, who had been trying desperately to get onto its back and get a gratis flight, for the better part of the last two days... most of the time without any luck.  
  
So now, the friends chased after the giant eagle, which had no chance of just flying away with one rubber-boy holding tightly onto its wings. Luffy wasn't particularly caring that he got dragged  
across the ship...  
  
"Hey, guys! Would you please stop this and finally scrub the deck?!" Nami called after them,  
hoping that at least once they listened and did what she ordered them to! Sometimes she feared she had taken over a kindergarten with a group of immature idiots!  
  
"Nami-honey!"   
Sighing, she turned towards the chef.   
  
As soon as Sanji had been conscious again, he had walked or better, crawled into the kitchen to fix something to eat for one half-starved captain. Afterwards he had immediately begun with his usual little presents for her and special fruit cocktails.  
  
So this time, he held a large glass with fruit ice in hands, presenting it to her on a silver plate,   
decorated with flowers as if she was a Goddess.  
But she so didn't mind!  
  
"Thank you, Sanji!" Sanji's lips curved into a large goofy grin and his heart made some extra beats at hearing her sweet voice thank him for such a simple gesture of showing his affection and deep love for her!  
  
For a while, they all watched the totally exhausted eagle and its untiring pursuers, but when it ran  
past Nami and Sanji, the navigator suddenly took the plate out of Sanji's hands and whacked it   
across her teammates' heads, who stopped mid-stride to rub their hurting skulls.  
  
Smiling, Robin's eyes followed the bird, which flew up towards the crow's nest, where it started   
immedaitely to purge its grand plumage from the dirty chase.  
  
Zorro, who had been leaning against the outside of the conference room, sharpening his precious  
swords, shook his head at the sight of the three jackasses laughing at each other's dented heads.  
  
He just wanted to get back to polishing his Wado-Ichi-Monji, when he noticed that the door leading to the inside of the ship was slightly agape.   
And he surely knew when he was being watched...  
  
"Not gonna work, huh?" He mumbled.  
Like in response, the door closed slowly. But just before he heard the lock click shut, Zorro put his booted foot in between the frame and the door.  
  
"Getting off this ship, whithout us noticing, isn't even half as easy as escaping from solitary   
confinement in a marine dungeon."  
He swore he had heard a sigh from the other side of the door and grinned slightly at that.  
  
"Hey, Zorro! You got a sunstroke or why are ya talking with yourself?" Nami asked the bewildered swords fighter.  
  
"Why don't ya leave me alone... nosy woman..." He hissed the last part through gritted teeth, but Sanji heard him nonetheless.  
  
Furious, he walked up on the other man, his body casting a large shadow across Zorro, who was still sitting cross legged in front of the conference room.  
  
"How did you lil baby-Mihawk-look-alike call my Nami?!"  
"What's your problem, peeling-machine?!"  
They literally threw death-glares at each other, getting ready to fight with all means...  
  
Not intending to watch the two idiots get involved into a senseless battle, Nami hit them both square across their heads.  
"That's enough. You wanne fight, get off of my ship!"  
  
"Hey, Nami! Isn't this 'my' ship??" Luffy asked her more than a bit confused, scratching his head as he thought about her statement.  
"Right, Luffy... 'course this is your ship... you're the captain and you've everything under control!!" She told him with one of her sweetest smiles.  
  
Grumbling a bit more, just for good measures, Zorro got back to his old place and returned to his previous task of cleaning his weapons.  
  
"And what am I supposed to do?" A quiet voice asked him through the door-crack. Defeat was clearly audible in it and Zorro sighed.  
  
"Come out and face it." With that he finally got up and walked down the stairs towards the main deck, where Luffy and Chopper had started to play pirates with wodden swords, snickering and laughing like little kids. He decided to sit down some meters away from where Robin was reading her newest obsession in form of a book.  
  
For some moments, the young woman listened to the retreating steps of the green haired man, until she could only hear two of the other pirates laugh about something.  
  
She knew that she couldn't stay here forever and didn't really want to get caught cowering in some dirty corner like a little girl... it was just, that she didn't want to 'face it' just now.  
  
She had been tracking Miss All Sunday and her accomplice for years and had nearly given up hope when she had accidently stumbled over her and the pirates.   
But why hadn't she killed her then? She just hadn't been able to deliver the death blow... but why?   
  
Something in her had changed when the pirates had fended her off, protecting somebody who had done too much wrong in her life to expect absolution!  
She had to find out what had caused this change... somehow the pirates remembered her of something she had lost a long time ago...  
  
Inhaling deeply, she got up, pain shooting through her body as she strained the muscles in her shoulder and belly too much. The bandages covering her upper body and belly were still crimson, a constant warning that she shouldn't exaggerate it... the wounds of the fight with that captain Spear were still too fresh to consider a tiring escape.  
  
Eyes closed, she pushed the door open and stepped out into the light.  
  
The first thing that greeted her was a shocked gasp from the red-haired woman standing just a few feet away from her. Opening her eyes, she watched her stumble down the stairs and hide behind the mast... together with a long-nosed man, she hadn't met yet.  
  
"Hey!! She's awake!!" The one with the strawhat called, a broad genuine smile covering the better part of his face... much to her surprise. Why would some stranger be happy that she'd survived?  
  
"You want something to eat or drink?" Having caught her off guard, a smoking man leaned against the railing beside her. He didn't seem to mind her presence a bit!  
  
"Uhm, no... "  
She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence, when Luffy started to speak.  
  
"So, what did ya want from Robin... Oh, and where did you get that cool cape from? And what is your name??"  
  
Frowning she searched the sky for something, finding 'it' sitting in the crow's nest, head ducked as if it was trying to hide from her. Good idea!   
"So this traitor of a brid didn't tell ya anything?"  
  
"No. The parrot said that your identity is a secret and it couldn't tell us about it."  
"Parrot?? More like a back-stabbing crow... gonna have some chicken soup tonight, huh..."  
  
"Hahahaha!! Hey, Sanji! Told ya, we can have it for dinner!"  
Crying, the eagle fainted.  
  
"I didn't allow you to leave bed! Your wounds are too severe to walk around with them just now!"  
The little deer mutated into a huge monster, being tall enough to examine his patient right here and then.  
  
The young woman didn't have much of a share in decision-making and could merely hold back to moans of pain when the Doc pulled up the shirt she had snatched from one of the man in their room and uncovered her shoulder. As soon as he started grumbling, she knew that her sudden need to run around had strained the stitches and had lead to some re-opened wounds.  
  
She was just glad that she was still wearing her spaghetti-top when Chopper ordered her to take off the shirt, so that he could take a look at her belly.  
  
"Woahh!! Cool!! Where did ya get that scar from?? Hey, Zorro! Looks somewhat like the one you got from Mihawk!!" Luffy had climbed up the railing to where Chopper was standing with their 'guest' on the bridge, staring at a large scar starting at the girl's neck and running down her shoulder and back until it ended somewhere under her baggy pants.   
  
Cheeks colored in a light red, she hastily pulled the shirt back over her torso.  
She really hoped nobody but the deer and the rubber-boy had seen it!  
  
"Where did you get it from?!" Robin had left her chair and walked up the stairs towards the girl.  
A somewhat shocked expression covered her features, making Luffy and Sanji frown.  
  
"None of our business!!"  
Robin wasn't impressed by the young woman's outburst. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the girl's shoulder, seemingly lost in thoughts.  
  
"What's your name?" Robin's voice was even, but Zoro immediately detected the supressed emotions in it and wondered what had made Miss-All-Tough lose her normal composure.  
  
"..."  
  
"Hey, Robin! You really know her?"  
"So, she may have a real reason to kill you?"   
Luffy amd Sanji asked the archaeologist.   
  
"Yes, I 'had'... my name is still not important. I will leave you at the latest tomorrow and then you  
won't need it anymore..."   
Turning towards the door leading to the conference room, she was just about to take the door knob, when Robin took the opportunity to speak.  
  
"Maya... right?"  
Frozen in place, the girl stopped dead, eyes wide in shock.  
"I take it that's your name..."  
  
Suddenly the young woman spun around, eyes dark with anger and sorrow... the same look Robin had noticed when they had met the first time in the backyard. But now she knew why somebody could lose all the light in his eyes. At the mere thought, that 'she' was the reason for this, Robin's heart started to ache.  
  
"I know, this'll not help... but I'm sorry, for what I've done to..."  
"Don't! Don't you dare and do this to me... I still have no scruple killing you in a heartbeat."  
  
Silence descended upon the friends and the girl.   
  
Finally she moved, taking the knob and pulling the door open. But before she stepped into the room, she turned around, facing the seven pirates with clear, tired eyes.  
  
"My foes call me 'Shadow'... only people I trust with my life and consider as friends are allowed to call me by my real name... Maya."  
With that she finally disappeared inside the ship, the door clicking shut behind her.  
  
On deck, nobody said anything for a while. Even Nami and Usopp had left their hiding places, just standing on the main deck, their eyes casted downwards... what where they supposed to say?  
  
"Hey, guys!"  
Everybody stared at Luffy, who was still hanging at the railing, eyes shining brightly with excitement.  
  
"We still need a musician and a mascot!! Every pirate king should have a parrot and Kyra won't stay without her friend... 'Maya' is our new teammate!!"  
  
The smile that spread out over his face, was infectious and soon everybody was grinning with him, knowing too well, that Luffy wouldn't give a damn about the foreseeable refusal of the  
soon-to-be-eighth-strawhat-pirate!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!  
Woohooo! We know her name!! Finally! wipes off sweat  
You wanne know what'll happen now? Drop a review! THNX!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes:  
  
Aaaaaalright! 5th part and I thought it'd be good to give something away about 'Maya's' story... not much, though...  
Reviews are as always welcome!!  
Now go and read on!  
  
=--=   
...  
=--=  
=means flashback!!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"My foes call me 'Shadow'... only people I trust with my life and consider as friends are allowed to call me by my real name... Maya."  
Having said that, she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her, waiting for the lock to click shut.  
  
For a moment, everything was silent, the only noise being her raspy breathing.  
She was fighting hard against the tears and feared she would lose the battle, if she didn't move now.   
  
She was really exhausted from the strain of the last few minutes.  
Her muscles hurt, making her feel as if she'd fought against the whole marine and the wounds from Spear hurt like hell.  
  
Letting go of the door knob, Maya was just about to walk over to one of the wooden chairs,  
intending to sit down and rest, when she heard the captain's voice from outside.  
  
"Hey, guys!"  
A pause as he probably waited for the attention of his friends.  
"We still need a musician and a mascot!! Every pirate king should have a parrot and Kyra won't stay without her friend... 'Maya' is our new teammate!!"  
  
'Maya'...  
She hadn't heard her name out of a stranger's mouth in a very long time.  
  
'Maya'...  
It had been more than four long years since her best friend had called her by her real name.  
  
=--=  
  
"Maya!!"  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Come on! We gotta watch the boys jump into the sea! They wanne show off in front of us!!"  
Smiling mischievously, the young girl grabbed her jacket and ran down the stairs, leading to the lower floor of the house. Her best friend Zoy was already waiting outside on the front porch.  
  
"Mom? I'll be back for dinner! Bye!!"  
"Hey, Maya! Wait!"  
Cursing silently under her breath, she waited for her mother to come out of the living room.  
  
"What about your swords training?"  
"But, mom! Dad is occupied with the training of the new bodyguards-recruits of the king!...   
I don't need that baby-training anymore! Pleeeease!!"  
  
Sighing, her mother nodded and gave a small peck on her daughter's cheek, waving 'bye' as  
Maya and her friend ran off towards the cliffs.  
  
The last thing Maya saw of her mother were her smiling eyes as she closed the door behind her.  
  
=--=  
  
"Anybody hungry?"  
The noise that followed the chef's question brought Maya out of her revery.  
  
Surprised she realized, that she was still standing beside the door and hadn't noticed the pirates   
enter the room. By now, they were already sitting around the large table, waiting impatiently  
for their meal to arrive on their empty plates.  
  
Especially the captain with the strawhat was bouncing up and down on his seat like a rubber ball  
on drugs! She assumed, that he hadn't even taken notice of her standing in the corner. So she sat down on the little bench behind her and watched the other people in the room for a while.  
  
"Yeah!! Meat and bacon!! My fav meal!"  
"Who'd have thought... " Zorro mumbled, as he took the first bite of his steak.  
  
"Hey, Maya... " She flinched at that... again her name. " You don't want to eat with us?" The red-head asked, voice friendly and a warm smile beckoning her to eat with them.  
  
"No. I don't want you to go to a great deal of expense for me... already cost too much to keep me here for two days... "  
"Whatever... "Luffy told her around a whole package of sausages in his mouth.  
  
Irritated, Maya stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes fell on Nico Robin sitting at the table, with her back against th opposite wall... she was facing her. At the sight of her enemy eating there as if she was the innocence in person, anger made the blood in her vains boil up.  
  
Her gaze wandered back to her fists, lying clenched in her lap.  
She still didn't know why she had rescued her of all people! There was no damn reason why she...  
  
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I introduced myself." A bit surprised, Maya looked up, finding the ship's cook standing in front of her. He was smiling sweetly down at her, a lighted cigarette dangling out of one corner of his mouth.  
  
"My name's Sanji and whenever you feel the need to eat or drink something or when you need somebody to help you get dressed..." A plate came flying from behind him, hitting him hard across his blond head.  
  
"Sanji, leave her alone! Always the same with ya!!"  
"Oh, no, my Nami!! Don't be jealous! Nobody could ever replace you in my heart!! I'm your lovesick slave forever!"  
  
Grumpling, she got back to her meal, just to find the bowl of ice-cream lying empty in Luffy's hands.  
  
"More like idiotic maniac..."  
"What?! You got a prob with me, Zorro?!"  
"What if?!"  
  
Nami didn't pay much attention to the fighting men... they were so much like immature apes, and  
she really didn't have the time to take care of them everytime they thought it to be necessary to  
show off!  
  
"By he way... don't worry about the money... you rescued my life. The treatment is free... this time."  
Nami grinned boyshly.   
  
Maya decided that it couldn't be wrong to like this woman. She had something that remembered her of her former best friend... genuine, roguish smile, laughing eyes and red hair...  
  
=--=  
  
"Hey, Maya!! Watch out!"  
Too late... one of the boys had already pushed her into the sea. She had barely time to hold her breath and as a result coughed up a lot of water after re-emerging.  
  
"Hahahaha!! So lil sea-horse... when are we gonna get back? I need to finish some work at home, before my parents come back tonight." Zoy told her friend, already drying her red hair with a towel.  
  
"Alright... just wait a sec..."  
  
=--=  
  
"Yeah!! I'm full! Another bite and I'll explode! Hahaha!... " Leaning back against his chair, Luffy started rubbing his bulging belly. Everybody around him, had already finished their meal and Sanji and Usopp had nearly cleaned the table from the remains of the dinner.  
  
Robin was sitting across from Luffy, eyes casted downwards, staring at her folded hands.  
She knew that Maya was watching her intently, her gaze literally boring a hole into her head.  
  
The archaeologist knew her... The large, ugly scar on the girl's back the only reminder Robin had needed to finally remember.  
  
She just wished that she had never met her again... the presence of the young woman brought up  
memories of a time, Robin would love to forget about.  
  
It had been four years, since she had seen Maya for the first time.  
Four years... but it felt like it had been only days.  
  
=--=   
  
"Kill them!!"  
  
=--=  
  
"Why?"  
Looking up, Robin stared at Maya, who was still sitting on the bench, leaning heavily against the wall behind her. Her lips were pursed, cold eyes staring at the older woman... at her enemy.  
  
"'Why' what?" Zorro asked Maya.  
Inhaling as deep as her hurting shoulder allowed, Maya sat up straight. Never again would   
anybody see her vulnerability. She had allowed her carefully built walls to crumple when the pirates had taken care of her, even though she had been the reason why they had very nearly died.  
  
"Why are you treating her like this? What the hell did she do to deserve you?!... To deserve friends and absolution for her cruel deeds!?"  
  
A picture flashed through Maya's mind... Nico Robin, Miss All Sunday, standing above her mother... eyes cold like ice staring down at the bleeding, dead body...  
  
"'Cause she rescued me."  
Frowning, Maya looked at the captain of the crew. He had turned around to face her, hands propped up on his knees.  
  
'She rescued me'... The words echoed in her ears, repeating themselves like a mantra over and   
over again. They didn't make any sense!  
  
'She rescued me'... Just because she had safed one damn life? That's why nobody talked about the deaths she was responsible for?  
  
=--=  
  
"Mom?"  
"Yeah, Maya?"  
  
Minding the injuries of her mother, Maya sat down carefully on the hospital bed her mom was sitting in. She had been on a mission as the CO of the island's fleet to overpower some pirate ships that had been seen sailing straight towards the harbor. They had won, but not without considerable losses and injured men and women... among them also her mother.  
  
"Why don't they execute him?"   
Maya pointed at a half dead man, lying motionless in another bed in the room.  
  
"Because he rescued me."  
"But he's a bad guy... he's a pirate and has killed many, many innocent people!"  
  
Soft eyes smiled down at the young girl.   
With the hand that was not covered in thick bandages, Maya's mom stroked her daughters   
head lovingly.  
  
"Maya... maybe you are right. This man is probably a murdering pirate. A man who's killing other people, because his captain orders him to... But today, he has done something nobody has told or ordered him to do. He followed his heart and mind and rescued me and five other man, by stepping in front of us and fighting off his own comrades. He killed again, but this time in order to safe us!"  
  
Eyes fixed at her mother's scratched face, Maya listened, trying to understand what she was   
talking about.  
  
"What I'm trying to say is, that... sometimes you can't judge somebody because of one deed... no matter how cruel it was what he did. Everybody deserves a second chance... a chance to show what really lies hidden within this person. That doesn't mean that we can just let every felon loose. No! A last chance is only for those reserved, who take it with their own free will!"  
  
"So we forgive him, because he rescued you?"  
"Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting, Maya. He will be sentenced, I'm sure about that. But I and your father have forgiven him... without him, I would have never seen my beautiful daughter again. He deserves absolution."  
  
=--=  
  
Forgiveness?  
Why would she want to forgive her?  
  
'Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting...'  
Yeah, she would, no could never forget what this woman had done. But maybe she could try and finally go on with her life, which had stopped the day she had realized that she was alone.  
  
'Alone'... for four years, she had been alone, her only friend and ally being Kyra. She had learned the hard way not to trust anybody... especially not with her life.  
  
But now, she was here.  
People, who didn't know her a bit, offering her shelter. A new home.   
A new start.  
  
They had been seemingly able to forgive her without giving it another thought that she had been the reason why half of them had very nearly died.  
  
Could she do the same?  
'Everybody deserves a second chance... a chance to show what really lies hidden within this person.'  
  
A second chance?   
Even herself deserves one?  
  
Maya allowed the words of her mother to linger on her mind for a moment, trying to find the right words to express her only wish, running through her head.  
  
Slowly she got up from the bench, a jolt of pain running through her shoulder and abdomen.  
Without making eye-contact, she walked over to the table where the seven strawhat pirates where still sitting, watching her.  
  
Inhaling deeply, she finally looked up from the floor and gazed in everybody's eyes... even into those of Nico Robin.  
  
"I'm sorry... for what I've done. For having tried to extinguish one life and for being the reason why you have gotten into danger."   
  
Bowing slightly (the bandages didn't allow more than that), she closed her eyes, a tear falling down onto the wooden floor.  
  
"I hope you can forgive me and allow me to get things straight again... all I'm asking for is a second chance to prove my value as a human being and friend."  
  
For a rather long second, the crew was silent, and Maya feared to look up.  
"Hahahaha!! I forgive ya, if you stay here as a new strawhat pirate!"  
  
Smiling, Maya stared at the broadly grinning captain.  
She had her second chance and was going to let it pass by unused...  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!  
  
I told ya, there isn't that much about Maya's past, but if ya wanne know everything about her probs with Robin, tell me!!   
So: review, anyone? ;D


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes:  
6th part I think... I had a lot to do lately and couldn't make it sooner, sorry!! Hope you like it!  
Thanks a lot, Maren (she's my lil sis... sweety!!)!! You helped a hell of a lot!!!! Hugs and kisses for ya!!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
"Luuuuuffy... Luuuuu-ffy!! The new piiiirate kiiiing!!"  
Shaking his head, Zoro turned away from his captain and settled instead on watching the blue horizon.  
  
"Now come on!! Why don't you repeat it?!"  
Exhaling exaggeratedly, Nami walked over to where Luffy was sitting cross legged in front of Kyra. He had been staring at the giant eagle for nearly two hours, repeating the same words over and over and over again...  
  
By now, none of his friends had a nerve left to listen to him anymore and so Nami took things into her own hands... or better fists.  
  
BONK  
  
"Ouch!!"  
"Luffy, I swear, if ya ever say 'that' again, I'll personally see to it that you get thrown into the ocean!!" The navigator yelled, fist risen threateningly at the rubber-boy, who was by now, smiling brightly up at his friend.  
  
"Yeah, yeah... " He waited a moment until Nami had turned around. "Hey, Kyra!! Say 'Luuuuffy'!"  
Sweatdropping, the eagle watched as a vain popped up on Nami's forehead, waving Sanji over to her.  
  
"Sanji, would you please?"  
"Of course, my precious Nami!!"  
  
Grinning idiotically, the ship's cook took hold of Luffy's shoulders. Not really paying attention to where Luffy was going to end up, Sanji threw him somewhere behind him over the railing!  
  
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"  
Barely in time, Luffy extended his arms and grabbed the next best thing within reach (a shocked Zoro)  
and pulled himself back on board, landing on top of the swords fighter's chest.  
  
"Hey! I nearly lost my hat!!" "Whatever... " Shaking her head, Nami walked across the deck to where the newest strawhat pirate was lying, eyes staring into the sky above her.  
  
Maya had officially been a new crewmate for two days now. Most of her wounds were healing nicely and Chopper was taking care of her as best as he could... or as Zoro liked to call it, 'played mother hen'.  
  
But she hadn't spoken much since she had asked for a second chance in the conference room, nor had she made consciously eye contact with Nico Robin and Nami was worried something was on the girl's mind that could stand between the friends and Maya. She knew that unresolved issues could lead to dangerous situation and wasn't willing to take the risk.  
  
"So?"  
Looking up at the ship's navigator, Maya had to blink twice before the blurred vision cleared slightly.  
  
"So what?"  
"So, how are you?"  
  
Inhaling deeply (her shoulder was doing great with the help of the little deer and the pain was bearable at last) she sat up and craned her neck to work out the strain in the muscles.  
"Fine... glad to finally have some time to relax."  
  
Nami noted with interest, that the girl's eyes had considerably cleared within the two days she had been here. They were much brighter by now and when Maya was smiling the happiness nearly reached her eyes.  
  
But then, when Robin spoke or walked past the other woman, one could immediately see how they clouded, though she seemed to try to prevent it from happening... without much success.  
  
"Yeah... you think, Luffy ever gets the fact, that Kyra is 'not' a parrot?!" Nami wondered.  
"Hopefully... even 'her' patience will run out." She grinning cheekily and pointed over to where Luffy had again sat down in front of Kyra, preparing his next onslaught...  
  
Sitting down next to Maya, Nami leaned against the mast behind her.  
"I got a question there... of which Devil Fruit did ya eat from?"  
  
That seemed to get everybody's attention and even Luffy turned away from the eagle, standing up and walking towards the two young women.  
  
"No idea what it was called... was more of an accident when I ate it." She shrugged nonchalantly.  
"Why's that so?" Usopp asked, climbing down the crow's nest and taking up position beside Luffy and Sanji.  
  
"About two and a half years ago, I stranded on a tiny island after a bad fight with some pirates. Kyra was badly injured and my leg was broken, so I couldn't just swim off it, hoping to come across help in the middle of the Grand Line! Unfortunately there wasn't much to eat either and I gave most of the things I found, Kyra... she needed it. After three or four weeks... don't exactly remember... well, a small box with a strange fruit got washed ashore and I ate it... I was so hungry that I'd probably eaten the box itself if it had been necessary!"  
  
Snickering, Luffy sat down next to Nami and Maya.  
"Yeah, would have probably done that, too! Though I guess Kyra would've tasted much better! Hahaha!!"  
  
"When Kyra had recovered, we went to the next island in reach and promptly got into a fight with some guy, who had Devil Powers... he could grow tendrils out of his body. He tried to kill me and just before I kicking the bucket, I gripped his arm and could feel how his powers and energy left his body and he collapsed in a miserable heap."  
  
"So you can neutralize the Devil Powers, right?" Usopp queried, head cocked to one side as he watched Zoro snoring soundly to his right.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so... The problem with my Powers, if ya wanne call it a prob at all, is that I can't do cool stuff like mutating into an animal, extend my arms or let stone spears grow outta my body. There's no possibility of using it against 'normal' pals like Zoro and Sanji... the only things that help me with guys like you, are my fighting techniques and my swords."  
  
"Hihihi!! Hey, Nami! You thinking we gonna meet Smoker again any time soon?! Maya's powers could come in handy then..." He was beaming happily, with eyes gleaming in excitement as he thought about their (hopefully soon) next encounter with the captain who had been the only one up until now Luffy couln't fight off with his Gum-Gum Powers. But now that they had Maya on board the tables had turned!  
  
"Hey, Zoro? That'd be cool, right?!" Startled at hearing his name, Zoro looked up, realizing in a haze that the conversation had ceased to a standstill as they all awaited his reaction to Luffy's question.  
  
"What? Smoker?" A picture of him standing in a street, accompanied by Lieutenant Tashgi sprang to his sleepy mind, getting him back into reality in an instant.  
  
"No!! I'd rather face a whole army of Mihawks than that girl again!!" He yelled, getting some perplexed looks from his crewmates.  
  
"Oh, baby-Zoro is afraid of a girl? Should we call Mommy for ya?" Sanji was more than happy, using such a great possibility of teasing the swords fighter.  
"Should we arrange a meeting with Mr. Death for ya instead, pan-face?!"  
  
And off they were, both grabbing a fistful of collar of their opponent.  
Nami didn't have the nerve to part them just now and ignored them pointedly, sighing as she heard Zoro's head hit the deck hard.  
  
"Miss navigator, if I remember correctly we should reach the next island within the next day... maybe we should make a list of things we have to acquire there."  
Nami turned towards Nico Robin, just in time to see Maya flinch slightly at hearing the older woman's voice.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right... Sanji?" She asked in her sweetest tone of voice.  
Sanji, still engaged in the fight with the green haired man, stood bolt upright as soon as he heard Nami's voice, hearts practically flying out of his eyes and a goofy grin plastered on his lips.  
"Yes, my Nami-honey?!"  
  
"How 'bout you fix some dinner? I'm starting to get hungry and I guess Luffy is already starving."  
Right on clue, Luffy jumped up, eyes wide and saliva already dripping out of his mouth at the mere thought of getting something to eat.  
"Oh, yeah!! Please, please, please, Sanji!! I need food, now!!"  
  
"Of course, my dear Nami. I'm not going to decline your wish and will show you the wonders of a delicacy made of my love." He whispered near her ear, bowing slightly in a gentlemanlike manner.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"Sanji, that was delicious!" Maya praised the chef's latest masterpiece of food, drinking the remains of the wine, Sanji had served along with the meal.  
  
"Why thank you, my dear Maya! And what did you think about it, Miss Nami?"  
"It was excellent, as always."  
  
"The steak was..." burp "... great!!" Luffy said, leaning back against the wall of the conference room, patting his belly in contentment.  
  
Standing up, Maya took her plate and glass and walked over to the sink, where Chopper and Usopp had already started washing the dishes... though it seemed they used the foam more for a fight than for the dirty stuff lying untouched in the water.  
  
Smiling brightly, she watched them for a while, when suddenly something like an electric jolt rushed through her body, starting at the back of her neck and ending in the tips of her toes.  
  
The feeling wasn't new to her. It had started to come every time somebody with Devil Powers got near her and had been a constant companion ever since she had been a member of the strawhat pirates, with three persons, having Devil Powers, running around on this ship all day long.  
  
But she had gotten used to it within no time, but this feeling right now, meant that somebody else was advancing towards the ship, which meant, that...  
  
"Hey... somebody with Devil Powers is near..."  
"Yeah, me!! And Robin and Chopper and yourself! Hahaha!!" Luffy laughed, walking over to Usopp and Chopper and joining their fight.  
  
Shaking her head, Maya listened hard to the slight breeze outside and caught the faint, shrill voice of her friend, Kyra, calling out and trying to get her attention.  
  
Alarmed that even the eagle had noticed it, the young woman sprinted over to the door leading to the bridge, grabbing her swords that were leaning against the door frame... The strange feeling got intensified now and she glanced nervously around just to find Zoro and Sanji walking over to her, frowns plastered on their faces as they waited bewildered for an explanation from her.  
  
But there was no need for such things.  
  
With a loud thump, accompanied by the noise of splintering wood, the door burst open, parts of the door flying through the conference room and showering down on the pirates.  
  
A huge men stepped inside, towering dangerously above Maya, who was too perplexed to move.  
Grinning maliciously at her, he raised his sword, getting ready to strike down.  
Just in time, Zoro moved forward, blocking the attack before the sword could touch Maya.  
  
Blinking rapidly, she got out of her trance-like state and ducked, getting out of Zoro's way and carefully walked past the large man and stepped out onto the bridge.  
  
She didn't get the chance to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness that greeted her outside.  
From both sides, leering pirates walked up the stairs, heading straight towards her, sabres risen.  
  
"Watch out!!" Zoro yelled and Maya got down onto her knees, watching as the bulky man from earlier flew across her head and hit the mast hard, landing unconsciously on the deck.  
"What the heck is going on here?!"  
  
Maya turned slightly back to where the men ran out of the room, eyes gleaming happily as they awaited the upcoming fight with their usual childish excitement.  
"Pirates in need of some sound trashing, I guess."  
  
"Woohooo! Exactly what I need after dinner... good for digestion." Luffy grinned brightly. He had already started with his warm-up and stretching.  
"Please, guys, try and go easy on the ship!! It's already barely recognizable as one!!" Nami yelled over the noise the hostile pirates made as they entered the Going Merry.  
  
"Nami is right!... And I order you to save me from them!!" Usopp told them, legs shaking as he hid behind Nami and Robin.  
"Save yourself! Whatever happens, in the name of love; I protect Nami!!" Sanji declared, his eyes searching for his first victim among the waiting pirates.  
  
Luffy hadn't paid attention to his friends. He was already busy beating up the enemy, with Zoro and Chopper fighting along with him to both sides.  
Maya and Robin, in the meantime, had taken position on either side of the bridge, hindering anybody from getting near the conference room, where Nami and Usopp where watching the whole scene with mixed feelings.  
  
Still trying to find somebody who could still stand upright and was looking for a fight, Sanji's eyes fell onto two guys climbing over the railing and onto the ship.  
  
They seemed to be twins, but the cook didn't really care, who he was going to kick across the Grand Line and back, so he merely shrugged and sped forward, flipping over into a handstand and serving some hard blows with his boots.  
  
To his surprise, he didn't send the guys flying over board.  
And they didn't seem to care as he hit them one after the other right into their faces.  
  
"What the hell..." He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when the twins suddenly transformed into gel-like substance... much like jello, Sanji noted, when his boot suddenly sunk into the squishy, jelly-like substance that had been a cheek.  
  
"Urgh!" He tried desperately to get his foot, that was slowly disappearing in the man's face, out of the jello, his lips pursed in disgust as the stuff dripped down his leg and onto the floor.  
  
"You have no chance against us, you pirate wannabe!" The second twin said, his dark voice booming above the fighting noise.  
With that, the man, Sanji had attacked, took hold of the cook's leg and pulled him out of his jelly-face,  
lifting him up high into the air, before throwing him square across the deck, against the railing, where Nami and Usopp were still standing.  
  
"Argh, dammit!"  
"Hey, Sanji?" Luffy had just smashed the jaw of one pirate, when he turned towards his cursing friend.  
"What are ya doin' on the floor?"  
  
"Those idiots have Devil Powers..." He pointed to the twins, who walked straight towards them, grinning evilly as they watched the blond man lying on the floor, swearing soundly.  
  
"Wow!! Cool!! They're pudding!! Hey, Sanji, when we're done here, I want chocolate pudding!!"  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever the hell makes ya happy."  
  
Turning back towards the advancing twins, Luffy extended his arms backwards.  
"Gum-Gum-Bazooooka!!"  
  
Luffy's fists sped forward, aimed at the two men.  
But when they hit home, the rubber-boy's fists went right through the bodies, the jelly engulfing his arms and hands in the squishy mass.  
  
Hastely, he tried to pull his rams back out of the bodies, shocked to find them trapped within the jello. It appeared, the men were able to solidify the mushy jello into a harder substance, making it impossible for Luffy to free his arms.  
  
"Ahhh!! Shiiit!!" He yelled, kicking one of the twins hard with his foot, which just bounced off into another direction.  
  
"We have eaten from the jell-O-Fruit... and there is nothing you could do to defeat us, rubber-ball!"  
They laughed, their gel-like bodies rippling as they moved slowly towards the friends at the railing.  
  
"It seems, you have no treasures or goods on board... so we'll just take the girls instead and burn the ship down."  
  
Anger flared up inside the boys at the words, flames practically shooting out of Sanji's eyes. Zoro and Chopper both attacked the twins from either sides, but the jello absorbed their futile attempts to fight them off, Zoro's swords almost staying stuck in belly of one man.  
  
"What the hell's going on here?" Maya asked, pulling one of her swords out of one pirate, lying dead on deck.  
  
"Nothing, honey... no probs here, if you lay down your swords. Take the other girls and get over to our ship." One twin said, his leering eyes giving Maya a once-over.  
  
"Oh. And here I thought, I gotta have to kick your jelly-asses. Sorry, bit of a misunderstanding."  
"Don't be sassy, lil girl. I don't wanne have to kill such a cutie."  
"I'm already shaking in fear!" Maya grinning boyishly as she sheathing her swords.  
  
Roaring, the two men ran towards Maya, who was waiting unmoving on the deck in front of the bridge,  
arms crossed. They were dragging Luffy along with them, who was still trapped within their mushy bodies.  
  
He was trying desperately to get his limbs lose, but to no avail.  
Suddenly, Kyra appeard above him, taking him by his shoulders and flew upwards towards the crow's nest.  
  
Luffy's arms stretched more and more, until the pull of the bird's flight into the sky was enough and the gel-like bodies couldn't hold the arms anymore. With a loud 'plop', they slithered out of the men, flying in high-speed back towards their owner.  
  
"Thanx, Kyra!!" Luffy beamed happily, looking down to where the rest of his team was still standing on deck.  
  
His eyes fell onto the twins, heading to where Maya was standing in front of the bridge, swords put away in their scabbards. She didn't seem to mind them running to her and merely unfolded her arms from across her chest.  
  
The two bulky pirates raised their fists simultaneously at the young woman, anger clearly evident on their jelly-faces as they prepared their attack.  
  
A second before they had the chance to hit Maya where their fists were aimed at her upper body,  
she raised her hands, catching their clenched fists tightly.  
The force of their punches was so enormous, that Maya got pushed backwards, landing hard in the wooden bridge, the structure splintering under the pressure of the twin-attack.  
  
The other strawhat pirate were shocked at the sight that greeted them, with Maya being pressed up against the remains of the broken wall, her hands holding desperately onto the two fists of her enemies.  
  
Maya didn't show the pain on her face that flared up in her back.  
She concentrated hard on her task and clenched her hands around the fists she was holding onto for dear life.  
  
Nami, hiding along with Usopp behind the bars of the bridge, watched the twins standing nearly in front of her on the deck suddenly get down onto their knees, a pained expression replacing the formally angry features.  
  
Their bodies transformed back into their human substitute and sweat started to drip down their faces, muscles shaking as they tried hard to keep a more or less upright position.  
  
"What... are you... doing?" One twin asked, eyelids slowly dropping shut.  
Smiling slightly, Maya pushed away from where she was leaning against the wall. She forced the arms she was still holding onto downwards, making her opponents crouch down in front of her. "Kicking your jelly-asses."  
  
Before they passed out, the form of Maya transformed into a blurred shadow, hovering above them in the twilight of the vanishing sun.  
  
With that she let go of the pirates, walking past them and stopped in front of a shaking crewmember of the twins.  
"Take them back to your ship and leave your treasues on your deck." She instructed him.  
  
The man nodded and ordered some of his comrades to help him do what he had been told to and soon every hostile pirate was gone from the Going Merry, leaving some blood and weapons behind as silent reminders of their lost fight.  
  
"Awesome!" Nami said, running down the stairs to where Sanji was helping Maya stay upright.  
Blood was dripping down her back, but she wasn't the only one who got injuerd in the fight and wasn't going to complain about it... Chopper would take good care of it.  
  
"Hey, Kyra!" She looked up to where the eagle was sitting on the edge of the crow's nest and nodded towards the other ship, that left the Going Merry head over heels.  
  
The large bird answered with her shrill voice and made her way to the second ship.  
When she returned, she let a large treasure box fall down onto the deck, barely missing Luffy and Zoro.  
  
Nami's eyes gleamed happily when she opened the box with her picklock, finding gold and gems lying hidden within it.  
"Hope this makes up for the time when I lay invalid around, doin' nothing." Maya said, grinning at the sight of Nami's shining eyes.  
  
"Oh, yeah!"  
"Hahaha!! Told ya, her powers would come in handy some day!!" Luffy laughed out loud.  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!  
Hope you liked this part... not sure I should write another one, though... sorry if I won't!! 


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes:  
I fought a huge battle with my muse and won!! Otherwise there wouldn't have been enough ideas fo this story... hopefully she recovers soon...  
  
Hugs go to my sis and bro!! Well done!  
R&R if possible... pretty please??

=--= means thoughts!!

/()/()/()/()/()/  
"Land in sight!!"  
  
Head snapping up from the table in the conference room, Luffy's face brightened up in an instant.  
Finally they were going to find some action and adventures, fight against new monsters and hopefully find meat!!!  
  
He was starving, the hole in his stomache big enough to fit a whole cow in!  
Though his last meal had just been two hours ago...  
  
"Yeah!! Land!!!" He yelled, running out onto the bridge and jumping across the deck, climbing up onto the lamb head and sitting down, eyes gleaming happily at the sight in front of him.  
  
A small island, with huge cliffs rising out of the ocean like a gigantic wall protecting the land behind it.  
  
"Strange..."  
"What is it my dear Nami?!" Sanji asked, a goofy smile covering the better part of his face.  
"This is not the island, the Lock Port is aligned to... we found it actually only by accident."  
  
"I don't care! It's an island and I need food!!... Usopp get the others on deck!"  
Nodding, Usopp got inside, calling for the rest of the crew to come outside, helping them to find a way through the cliffs surrounding the isle.  
Soon the whole crew was on deck, eyes wandering over the wide, steep rocky coast.  
  
"We can't land here... there's practically no way of getting past the cliffs with the ship."  
Everybody turned around to where Maya was standing with her back against the mast, Kyra sitting peacefully beside her.  
  
"Why? How'd you know?" Nami asked bewildered.  
"This is the island I come from... the only way of getting onto the island is climbing up the cliffs,  
which is the reason why most pirates never got the chance to raid our villages... we defeated them when they tried in vain to find a safe way past the cliffs."  
  
"Cool!... But how do we get past 'em? I'm so hungry!!"  
Maya didn't answer, she merely gazed down at her dirty boots.  
  
"We shouldn't try it... " Heads turned towards Robin, who was leaning against the railing of the ship's right, looking across the lamb-head at the huge cliffs.  
  
"She's right." Maya intervened, once again gaining everybody's attention. "The inhabitants hate pirates more than death... they won't allow you to enter their villages without a fight. The first and last time somebody has gotten onto this island has left the survivers of the massaker that had followed, shaken and traumatized... Please don't force them to relive that day."  
  
Looking over to Nico Robin, Maya noticed that her eyes were casted downwards. She apparently knew exactly about what Maya had been talking... at least one of them, she didn't have to explain.  
  
"But, Maya! We need supplies and meat!"  
Shaking his head, Sanji mumbled something about meat and supplies being one and the same, but knew that Luffy didn't hear him anyway.  
  
"Maybe I could get onto the island with my Gum-Gum-canon?!" Luffy thought out loud, eyes shining in excitement.  
He therefore didn't notice Nami walking up on him, raising her fist and...  
  
BONK  
  
"Don't even think about it... if Maya says that they're going to kill us, then we won't land anywhere near this island, got it??" Nami raised her fist threateningly at her captain, but wasn't surprised to find his eyes shining unimpressed with pride about his 'plan'.  
  
"I'll take care of the supplies, captain." Maya told him, getting onto the eagle's back.  
"I still have some unfinished business with that island."  
  
With that, Kyra jumped up into the air, her large wings catching the strong wind. It didn't take long and the large bird of pray was even with the edge of the cliffs.  
  
"But I want to get onto the island!!" Luffy grumbled, arms already extended and flying towards the giant eagle. Not missing his target, Luffy's hands got told of the talons.  
With a large grin, Luffy flew into the air, his arms getting pulled together in highspeed.  
  
"Oh boy... that guy is so unpredictable..." Nami averted her eyes from the disappearing eagle and walked back inside, trying to calm her screaming nerves and hoping that Luffy was not going to get in any trouble...

/()/()/()/()/  
"What the hell where you thinking?!" Frowning Luffy, not really understanding why Maya was that pissed off all of a sudden.  
  
"I wanted to come along."  
"I told you to stay on board, dammit! This is no place for somebody like you!"  
"Why? I'm not going to break anything, I swear!"  
  
Sighing, Maya swept a calming palm across her features and closed her eyes for a long moment.  
"Alright... I'm going to visit someone and don't wanne get disturbed, alright?" She waited until Luffy nodded. "So, you stay here and don't touch anything or talk with anybody!"  
  
Turning around, Luffy looked at the various booths offering all kinds of food and other cool stuff.  
Pursing his lips and thinking about it for a second, he finally turned back towards his waiting friend.  
  
"Ok... not gonna move an inch from here."  
"Why don't I believe you... " She mumbled, before straightening.  
  
"I'll be on one of the hills behind the village... if you really need help or get into trouble, head north-west. You can't miss me there..." She told him and again Luffy nodded very enthusiastically.  
  
Suddenly, Maya remembered something, Nami had told her some days ago, when they were talking about whims of their male crew members.  
"Dammit, Nami warned me about your inability to follow a compass-needle... alright, I'll leave Kyra with you. She knows where I am."  
  
"Thanx! Hey, Kyra!! Gotta have some fun, right?!"  
Sweatdropping, the eagle watched as her best friend walked down a street, leaving her behind with a maniac.

/()/()/()/()/  
It had been more than three years since Maya had been here the last time.  
Years in which she had tried to burry the last memories of her past... having hoped to do so along with the dead bodies of the ones guilty of the grand massacre.  
  
Now that she was here again, standing in front of hills covered with uncountable graves, the pictures and noises of that day came flooding back into her mind, making her eyes fill with unshed tears.  
  
Four years of her formally happy life, she had been hiding her feelings along with the memories.  
But now, the time had come to face the ghosts of her past..."How did you get past the cliffs?"  
Maya could only hear the voice of her father, the words echoing through the marbled halls where the kings throne was situated.  
  
Still hiding behind a large column, she listened to the noise of heavy boots walking to where her dad was leaning against a massive table, in his arms the heavily breathing body of her mother.  
  
"I'm one of the seven samurai... do you really think that rediculous cliff could prevent 'me' from getting onto this island?!" His voice boomed through the great halls, accompanied by a another sound... somebody was giggling.  
  
"Why did you do this? What have we done?" Her father asked the man with the large scar parting his face like a carefully drawn line just underneath the empty eyes.  
"Oh, you were part of a test... my new partner had to proof herself and I thought, that getting rid of a whole island was just the right thing to show her abilities... hahahaha!!"  
  
Covering her mouth, Maya drew in a shocked breath.  
'Her?  
There was woman killing all those innocent people?  
  
"I hope I have passed the test, Mr. Zero."  
"Not yet, my dear Nico Robin... there are still three people left who know about my identity."  
  
Oh God!  
They knew she was here!  
  
Gripping her swords more tightly, Maya strained the muscles in her body. She was ready to fight... she wouldn't allow them to kill her parents! She'd rather die!  
  
"Leave them alone!" Yelling, she jumped out of her hiding place, her two swords clasped in her sweating hands. She was shaking nearly violently when her eyes caught sight of the numerous dead, bloody bodies lying scattered all across the throne hall.  
  
"Maya!! Get outta here!! Don't try and kill them, they're too strong!" Her father shouted at the top of his lungs, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
But Maya ignored the words of her dad, her gaze holding that of her enemies unwaveringly.  
A large man with a silver hook and a slender woman... a dagger in her left hand.  
  
"I will not allow you to kill my parents like you've done with the rest of my family and friends!!"  
Tears streamed down her face at the words, dropping onto the floor and leaving behind a salty puddle.  
  
"Robin..."  
"Yeah." Eyes cold as ice, the woman moved her arms and mumbled something, Maya couldn't hear.  
  
Suddenly, hands grew out of the floor beside her parents and the woman threw the dagger towards them.  
One hand caught the weapon easily, the others taking hold of Maya's father and mother, before they had a chance of escaping.  
  
Eyes that wouldn't obey her brain to look away stared at the scene in front of Maya with somewhat morbid fascination... the dead, empty eyes of her father staring back at her.  
  
"Well done, Nico Robin... or should I say, Miss All Sunday?"  
The woman didn't answer, instead she walked over to the dead body of Maya's mother, still being held tightly against her husband's chest, and picked up the bloodied degger.  
  
Maya's swords crashed down onto the floor, hands that were trembling violently not longer able to hold on to them.  
The tears had stopped and with clear, brown eyes, Maya watched Miss All Sunday towering above the dead, bloody body of her mother... the picture embedding itself into her brain.  
  
"When you're finished here, come back to the ship... we have to finish the recruitment." Mr. Zero said, turning around and walking out of the throne hall.  
  
Alone with the woman called Nico Robin, Maya still didn't avert her eyes from her parents.  
Even when the woman was heading towards her, the degger in her hand, Maya didn't move.  
  
"I wish there was another way..." Robin told the young girl.  
  
Suddenly pain shot through Maya's shoulder, bringing new tears to her eyes.  
She felt something move through the skin of her back, but the pain had subsided, nothing more than a distant pressure.  
  
Maya knew that the warm feeling on her back was her blood cascading down her body and that the fact that she was sinking down onto her knees was due to the blood loss.  
  
Looking down at the floor, she saw a red puddle form underneath her knees and before her eyes closed, she looked into the dark ones of Miss All Sunday...  
=--=

/()/()/()/()/  
"Booooring!" Luffy made a face as he watched Kyra sleep peacefully beside him on the small well.  
"Why didn't I stay with the others on ship?"  
  
A elderly woman gave him a strange look when she saw Luffy talk to himself, but he didn't care and instead settled on staring at the ground in front of his feet.  
  
Slowly his eyes lost focus and his heavy lids threatened to drop shut, when they suddenly caught sight of something small and black pattering across the dusty ground.  
  
"An ant!" Immediately his eyes snapped open, shining brightly as he watched the little insect making its way past his feet with a piece of a leaf inbetween its strong jaws.  
  
Within a fraction of a second, Luffy was lying on the ground, head resting on his crossed arms, so that his eyes were at the same level as the ant. His gaze followed the insect as it wandered seemingly aimlessly across the market place.  
  
When it accidently bumped against Luffy's hand, the rubber-boy had a laughing fit.  
His strange behaviour caught the attention from most people standing around him, making him to the center of most conversations going on.  
  
"Hey, where are ya goin'?" He asked the ant, when it suddenly sprinted off into the opposite direction.  
Luffy got on all fours, crawling on the track of the insect he was pursuing. His nose was nearly grazing the ground as he stared with large eyes at the object of his curiosity.  
  
Again the ant changed abruptly directions, Luffy doing the same.  
But suddenly, his chase ended with a loud 'Bang.  
He had crawled against a large statue that was standing at one side of the market place.  
  
"Ouch!" Luffy complained soundly about his hurting forehead, rubbing a red spot vigorously.  
  
"Watch out, boy!!" Somebody yelled and Luffy turned towards the owner of the voice, regarding the wildly gesticulating man with a bewildered look.  
  
Too late, Luffy noticed that the man was pointing at the statue he had collided with some seconds ago and which was falling down at him. He had no time to get out of its way and Luffy stared at the statue representing a man in awe... until it crashed down at him, bouncing off and rolling to one side.  
  
"Argh!!" Jumping off the ground, Luffy pulled off his strawhat and turned it into all directions.  
"That damn thing bended the rim!!" He practically fumed, not even taking notice of the large blue bump on his head where the statue had hit him. Instead he kicked it a few times in anger.  
  
That, on the other hand, made the people gathered around him fume in anger!  
First that guy brought their statue to fall and 'then' he kicked it!! What was that kid thinking?!  
  
"I hope you have enough money to pay that, young man!" One older woman said, her walking stick risen threateningly at Luffy.  
"Money?... I have no money..."  
  
The row of people closed up on him and sweat started dripping down Luffy's forehead as he watched the dark, angry eyes of the villagers.  
"No money, huh? Let's see what we can do about it..."

/()/()/()/()/  
"Mom, Dad... I think I have finally found something like peace... There are some pirates, but they're not like all those dumb-heads on sea." Inhaling deeply, she allowed her gaze to wander across the grave of her parents.  
  
"They're my friends... and I hope you're not mad at me for being a pirate now and that the woman that killed you is in the same crew... Mom, I did what you've told me; I've forgiven her, but I will never forget!  
I couldn't forget what she's done, but I'm willing to give her a second chance... hopefully it's the right thing to do, 'cause I'm too exhausted to continue this empty, cold life anymore."  
  
Smiling slightly, Maya laid down a bunch of flowers she had plucked on her way to the graveyard down onto the dark earth and listened into the silence that surrounded her... when suddenly a familiar but distant noise caught her attention.  
  
"Luffy?" She asked nobody in particular and turned around.  
  
"Mayaaaaa!!"  
Not really surprised, she watched Kyra fly across a hill, heading straight towards her.  
  
On the eagle's back, Luffy was sitting, his arms thrown high into the air in obvious joy as the strong wind nearly blew his hat off of his head. He was shouting her name and yelling incoherent things and slowly Maya doubted his sanity, when her eyes caught sight of a dozen people appear on the horizon, following Kyra or probably rather the person sitting on her back!  
  
"What the heck...?"  
"Mayaaaa!! We need to get off this island! Hahahaha!!"  
Sighing she lifted her right arm high into the air and shook her head.  
  
"Mom, Dad... wish me luck... we'll see us again some day..."  
Suddenly, Kyra's talons grabbed Maya's hand, pulling her up.  
  
With the other one, she waved the angry villagers 'bye', before taking hold of Luffy's offered hand.  
With a swift movement, she swung up onto the back of her friend, finding the rubber-boy grinning cheekily down at her.  
  
"What happened?"  
"I dunno... didn't move an inch from where ya left me! They said something about 'not going to allow the soon-to-be-pirate-king to stay in their village'." He shrugged nonchalantly and pulled his legs up from where they were dangling to either side of Kyra's body, now sitting cross-legged on the giant eagle.  
  
"What were you doing anyway up there, huh?" Luffy finally asked Maya, when the Going Merry came into view.  
  
"Said bye to my past."

/()/()/()/()/()/  
FINIS!  
Whatcha thinking? Now we finally know Maya's past sigh !! I guess that's the last part of this series... but there's already a new one in work bg


End file.
